Interlocking flooring of various types is well known. Such flooring is often referred to as “floating” because none of the flooring panels, whether they are elongated rectangular boards or less elongated panels, are secured to the subfloor.
Perhaps the most well-known type of locking flooring is tongue-in-groove floor boards, in which the tongue-in-groove feature provides locking against vertical movement along the two long edges of elongated floor boards—tongue-in-groove flooring did not originally have any locking features along the two short edges of the floor boards. As is recognized in the art, the locking features may be used with many different types of materials, such as floor panels which have a rigid high density fiberboard (HDF) base layer, with such HDF base layer panels having either a hard surface coating or a resilient plasticized vinyl surface coating, or floor panels which have a resilient base layer with a resilient plasticized vinyl surface. However, not all locking features work well with all types of flooring materials.
Over time, the long edges of floor panels have gained both horizontal and vertical locking features, as have the short edges. U.S. Pat. No. 8,293,058 describes one type of interlocking floor panels that has both long and short interlocking edges. As is described therein, interlocking along the long edge is achieved by “fold-to-lock” engagement, while interlocking along the short edge is achieved by “push-to-lock” engagement, and for the “push-to-lock” engagement, only horizontal locking is achieved. In order to achieve both horizontal and vertical locking along the short edges of panels, using “push-to-lock” engagement, more is needed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,452 discloses a flooring panel having long edges with “fold-to-lock” engagement and short edges with “push-to-lock” engagement, with each of the long and short edges having both horizontal and vertical locking.
For floor panels which have a less resilient base layer, or even a rigid base layer, achieving locking on the short interlocking edges often presents two problems. The first issue has to do with achieving the locking engagement between two adjacent panels along the short edge. For panels made from materials with a higher hardness, the short edge locking profiles need to include appropriate tolerances so that the locking profiles can engage and lock with each other. The tolerances make it possible to mate two short edges together in locking engagement. At the same time, tools such as a mallet may be needed in order to force the short edges into locking engagement. It is desirable to have floor panels that are easier to put into place as an assembled floor.
The other issue with floor panels that have a less resilient or rigid base layer concerns noise which develops from movement within the locking joints as the flooring ages. In flooring assembled from panels with less resilient base layer material, the rigid materials in the locking joints may begin to rub together over time. Because the material is rigid, the rubbing may produce moans and creaks when the floor is walked upon. Such rubs and creaks are generally undesirable.
For these reasons, an improved design for floor panels having a less resilient, or rigid, base layer material is desired. Embodiments of the present invention are designed to meeting these needs.